The Finding of Camelot

After weeks of searching with no luck, the Trio begins to doubt the truth of Valiant's dream of Camelot. But the appearance of a wounded falcon within the Castle Keep leads to an omen that renews faith in the mission. The falcon repays Valiant, Arn, and Rowanne for tending its injuries by leading them straight to Camelot the next morning. Unfortunately, Our Heroes do not receive the welcome that they were anticipating.moreless

Quotes (7)

Valiant: "Arn, what if my vision of Camelot was as my father said: nothing more than a figment of my imagination? Oh, it would wound my soul to think I had betrayed your faith in my, and Rowanne's."
Arn: "You have betrayed nothing. Your vision was true. Our quest is real! I feel it as strong as I feel the beating of my heart."

(the Trio stands outside Camelot in awe)
Valiant: "Camelot!"
Rowanne: "Look at it!"
Arn: "It's hard to believe anything could be so beautiful."

Rowanne: "How can you be so sure we shouldn't have gone the other way?"
Valiant: "I don't know – princely intuition perhaps."
(Merlin, concealed behind a wall, pulls a lever that makes the floor in front of them drop)
Rowanne: "I don't know about you Arn, but my commoner's intuition suggests we'd have been better off going the other direction."
Valiant (matter of factly): "Rowanne (chuckles), you are truly an irritating person."

Unknown Knight: "I am a Knight of the Round Table. Our illustrious king is so smitten with the notion of peace, he has forgotten that knights are above all soldiers. And what use is a soldier if he does not have a war to fight?"

(Merlin's falcon flies to Valiant and rests on his arm)
Guinevere (first line in the series): "I was certain the bird was about to attack. How extraordinary."
Merlin: "Hmm, perhaps it is an omen, milady."

Notes (8)

Characters introduced: King Arthur, Merlin, Queen Guinevere, Sir Gawain, and Sir Bryant. We also see Camelot’s traitor from behind and hear him speak, although we don’t learn his identity until later.

This marks the first time that all eight of the major characters appear in a single episode.

Three more images from the theme song appear in this story: the Trio climbing a mountain, the falcon flying, and King Arthur sitting on his throne. We’ve seen the falcon fly before, but in the theme song it appears right before Merlin and Arthur and in this episode it leads the Trio to Camelot.

The on-screen credits for the voice actors playing Guinevere, Gawain, and Bryant are not as prominent as those of the rest of the main cast. They can be more accurately designated as supporting characters instead of main characters.

Title card drawing: a bound book with Prince Valiant as the title on the cover.

Trivia (3)

The rope that was tied around Valiant’s waist during the climb disappears when he drops down to help Rowanne and reappears when he’s done fighting the bird.

After climbing the top of the cliff, Arn asks Valiant if they’ve reached Camelot. But Arn gets to the top before Valiant, so he can clearly see for himself that Camelot is not there.

While retrieving the ring, Valiant tears his sleeve so that he can pull his arm through the bars in a window. Moments later, we see that his sleeve is intact.

Allusions (1)

The comics depict the prince meeting Sir Gawain on the road to Camelot. It’s his instantly close friendship with this famous knight that leads to his introduction to Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin. Valiant serves as Sir Gawain’s squire until his own knighthood.